“Welcome in!”
What?
Did you just say, “Welcome in”?
I went into three local businesses in one day last week, all completely different in nature, and I heard it three different times.
This wasn’t the first time I’ve heard it. It seems that in the past few months it has become some kind of rule that a business addresses everyone with “Welcome in.”
What the hell does it even mean? And where did it come from?
First off, it doesn’t make sense. Second, how do you reply?
A greeting like “How are you today?” makes sense. And we have an answer for it. And in this case, unless you’re making an unexpected trip to the urologist, it’s completely acceptable to answer with a lie.
“I’m good, thanks. How are you?”
Truth is you just found out your auto insurance went up 25%, the bay has been in your street half the fall and you have no idea where those nice sunglasses you picked up on sale in August are. But you say you’re good. And that’s fine. That’s just how it works.
The whole “welcome in” thing just kind of catches us awkwardly off guard. It’s not anything you would naturally say. It sounds completely forced.
I’m not saying that every single veterinary office, coffee shop and car dealership started this just last week. I’ve heard it for a while. But all the sudden, it’s everywhere. I was discussing the matter with someone who told me it originated in the South. And that’s fine … for the south, if it’s a southern thing. But why are we saying it here? Apparently, it’s now said across the country, which makes it far, far worse.
Because … why?
Who decided that this was the new national standard in service? And why would we need a national standard greeting in service? Were the old greetings somehow offensive to someone? Who?
We were just fine with a “How y’all doin’ today?” in the Carolinas, or a “Yo, how ya doin’?” in Queens. Not that everyone has to speak in accordance with regional vernacular and dialect, but it’s much better than everyone saying the same thing.
As an example, you may not be a fan of a national chain that does Italian food, especially in New Jersey. We have every level of Italian and Italian American food here. We do it well. And we do it quick. (For some reason, 80% of the country hasn’t figured out how to sell hot pizza by the slice in a 30-second transaction.) We have everything from high end Southern Italian cuisine to stellar mini mall pizzerias. So why would we need a restaurant that serves the same sub-par Italian food that they serve in Indianapolis or Phoenix? That whole idea of the same thing being recreated around the country until everything is identical is a nightmare. A local shop does everything better than a big box. A local eatery is superior in every way to a national chain. Why would we adopt their practices?
If you don’t say “welcome in,” we’re certainly not going to think any less of your establishment. In fact, you might get points for bucking the sameness system.
AN OCEAN IN MOTION: No lack of waves lately, that’s for sure. The ocean was on double time for weeks now. The wind just hasn’t been all that considerate. In fact, it’s been quite a pain in the ass all fall. That said, this weekend was much deserved.
The big story was last week’s nor’easter, which actually became Subtropical Storm Josephine while we were running around looking for clean surf. It’s doubtful anyone really noted the change in the storm’s core at that point. And it’s not the sexiest name.
An unidentified surfer plows through a hollow tube last Thursday. (Photo by Tom Beaty)
“Do you remember that Subtropical Storm Josephine we surfed back in ’26?”
The powerful low sat just south of us for days and then spent a few more days drifting out into the ocean. There were waves the whole time, but only Holgate was rideable for five days, and even that was mostly just a sloppy river when the wind picked up last Wednesday. Pretty much everything was hinging on Thursday’s winds going northwest.
Thursday did have a good wave all day, in Holgate. We were waiting on the rest of the Island to clean up. The morning was gorgeous, but the wind was still north/northwest. At noon, it was lighter but still north/northwest. And as the tide filled and the wind continued to lay down … it was still north/northwest until dark. We just couldn’t shake that element of north.
That said, Holgate was good. I am going by reports and photos, however. Once you got to the southern part of town, there was nowhere to even park. Every surfer looking for a clean wave from Long Branch to Long Beach Township was down there. And it mostly did its thing – some long waves, deep barrels and turn sections. But it was also inconsistent and a bit erratic. Still the best we had in two weeks.
Then the ocean took a spiteful turn. After five days of north wind and a tiny bit of northwest, the winds came back northeast on Friday. So, if you missed it Thursday, you had to either deal with that reality or deal with a pretty messy ocean on Friday.
Saturday was clean again, waist to chest -high and decent at the best spots. Unfortunately, sandbars are still a mess, limiting where we can surf, as well as wave quality. Sunday didn’t offer a lot. Monday, however, was a beautiful day with warm offshore winds and a tiny wave. I’m sure someone found a little wave somewhere. The surf came up a bit on Tuesday, but so did the wind … out of the northeast. Shocker!
IT’S A BREEEZE: Believe it or not, this has nothing to do with northeast winds. We recently took our first round-trip on Breeze Airways. Breeze took over much of the service that Spirit Air ran out of Atlantic City International Airport when the latter went bankrupt. For 20 years, we had the convenience of an airport 28 minutes from LBI and the least convenient airline flying out of it.
This recent trip was from ACY to Tampa on Thursday night and then Orlando back to ACY Monday morning was without a single hiccup or delay. Everything seemed so much smoother than Spirit.
The flight crew wears pants and sneakers instead of the ridiculously dated tights and heels. The captain even invited anyone so inclined to stand up as soon as we touched down and rush to the front of the plane to be the first off. They get points for sense of humor.
Are you still getting nickel and dimed on everything? Yeah. You will pay for a soda or a checked bag. It’s a discount airline designed for short flights, but less obnoxious than Spirit. Pack light and carry your bag on. They have routes to about 10 Florida airports plus a host of other southern cities. This could be very good for winter travel and those going to Surf Expo in Orlando once or twice a year.
Also, no one said “Welcome in” when we boarded. So that was a plus.
COMP RESULTS: The Volcom Garden State Grudge Match went off last Friday up at Casino Pier in Seaside Heights. This event has been on call and if you think the north/northeast winds have been bad here, try anywhere north of Barnegat Inlet. The winds were onshore for the whole event, but it was chunky and rideable. The level of surfing in New Jersey right now is incredible, made only more so by the fact that barely anyone gets paid anymore. If we’re allowing for inflation, there was far more money in it for local pros 15 years ago.
LBI surfers made a few rounds, but most notable was Connor Willem of Mud City, who went all the way to the semis. He pumped his way into a dirty barrel and came out of it, as he does so well. Add in a few hacks and he had a great day before falling to Finn Law of Ocean City. Law lost in the final to Cruz Dinofa, also of OC.
On Saturday, Harvey Cedars hosted the NSSA Northeast High School Championships. Southern Regional got third place and Noah DeSimone took second place individually to Dinofa, for the second year in a row. Ocean City High School won the championship.
The bewitched water women and watermen took to the water at the Witchy Paddle last Saturday. (Photo by Jack Reynolds)
SANDBARS AND WATER TEMP: The water temp has been on a steady downward trend, but it still isn’t terrible for this time of year. The sand is terrible for any time of year.
Surf temps fluctuate during events like nor’easters, but in general we dropped from the low 60s after the last storm down to the mid 50s here midweek. If you haven’t broken out the boots yet, they are not far off. And that is pretty standard looking at November.
Following the September and then the October nor’easter-hybrid-Josephine-whatever, the sand is in worse shape than anyone can remember. Apparently local surfers have started referring to the widening inside trough as the “Mariana Trench,” the 36,000-foot-deep trench in the Pacific Ocean. Even after Superstorm Sandy, we had better sandbars than this. Something has to give, because these nor’easters may give us some waves in one Holgate location, but it’s cramping our style up and down the rest of the Island.
THE WAVES OF THE FUTURE: Specifically, the near future. The back half of the week looks pretty uneventful for swell, which isn’t the worst thing compared to days of raging northeast winds and waves. It will be small and we will get some periods of offshore winds plus some lighter onshore winds. In short, if you can find a sandbar that you don’t need a skiff to get to, it might be worth getting in the water. This could change, but the weekend doesn’t look all that impressive. Should be nice conditions for some last beach days and boating, though.
Beyond that, some of the models hint at a pretty strong low powering up another swell. Again, it’s pretty far out to be banking on it, but this doesn’t look to be one of those retrograding nor’easters caught under blocking high. It might be a fast mover, which is so much better than the storms that give us prolonged wind patterns.
Not all of the models are showing this, but the ones that are showing it blow up furiously in the middle of next week, building very short period east swell and then going offshore. That’s a storm we can deal with.
TRASH PICKED: Alliance for a Living Ocean just had its Fall Beach Sweeps last weekend and the weather was amazing. There was also plenty of work to do after those storms.
ALO’s Casey Deacon reported about 50 people came out to do work and collected 109.5 pounds of trash, which included a water heater. There are not many plastic bags in the mix these days, which is awesome. There are still plastic bags, however, including bags used for bait and also zip locks. But far fewer plastic shopping bags, thanks to New Jersey’s bag ban.
ROUND UP: LBI’s most bewitched water women held their Witchy Paddle last Saturday, rescheduled from the howling winds a week earlier. This has to be one of the most fun, spooky, spirted events of the season and it’s great to see it grow.
This week starts fall break for some, but not for all. The fact that not all schools in the area have the same days off is incredibly frustrating. I’m speaking specifically about the families that work in the summer tourism industry and then go right back into school/work after Labor Day. Some even keep the summer hustle on weekends through September and October. With fall festival season over and sport seasons winding down, local families have traditionally used this week to travel. But when parents and kids or siblings don’t have the same schedule, it puts a real wrench in family time.
On Saturday, SwellColors Glass Studio in Surf City will host a closing event/sale. The building is for sale and beloved LBI artist Mary Tantillo is moving on to the next chapter. While we are grateful to all that she has added to the art community here for so many decades, it is sad to see that gallery go.
Jetty has its yearly Sample Sale this weekend at the warehouse in West Creek. Other than that, it’s a Saturday Halloween, which is every kid’s dream – a full day of running wild through the streets, collecting sweet treats without any school to get in the way.
And then, according to all the stores, it’s the holiday season.
